Setup to fish from pier

I'm visiting my daughter in SLO this weekend and she wants to go fishing from the pier (tried to convince her to go kayak fishing but it didn't work...). The challenge is that I have no idea what setup to use to fish from a pier; any pointers will be appreciated. Thanks guys

pretty much the standard is a hi-lo rig with a 2-3oz sinker and some sort of bait.  sabiki rig may work as well.  which pier?  the guys over at pierfishing.com may have more info for you.

pretty much the standard is a hi-lo rig with a 2-3oz sinker and some sort of bait.  sabiki rig may work as well.  which pier?  the guys over at pierfishing.com may have more info for you.

She mentioned Port San Luis Pier by Avila. Apparently halibuts got caught there (dream on...)

Thanks for the pointer, for simplicity sake I might go with sabiki. I will also check pierfishing.com out

Frenchie I grew up fishing piers, best setup I have found is a 8'6 or 9' rod with an abu 6500 or similar for your main rod. 10-25lb test and 25-40lb leader. I use a 1/0 - 3/0 octopus hook below about a 4ft length section of leader material, tied to a barrel swivel. The mainline goes from swivel to sliding egg style plastic bead followed by a snap swivel where I will use a 3 oz triangle weight. Its similar to a Carolina rig, which works great on both live and dead bait. I prefer to use live bait over dead, as over the years I have caught about twice the amount of fish (from Striper, Flatties, WSB, Sharks and of course the occasional Sea Dog.)

I fish with my drag super light and my clicker on, this allows me to hear the run, then set the drag accordingly once the hook is set... As with flatties, when getting that first nudge, feed them the line, be patient, let them inhale that bait! Then Rip them lips!

JUST MAKE SURE while you are letting your rod rest, with either live or dead bait is on, rest it on the eyelet of the rod, sometimes we used to cut little v's on the pier (out of the wood railing) to set your guides on. Who knows, you may have found a lucky spot if you used someone's pre cut mark. This is usually a sign of a known pier fisherman and possibly a good spot.

I use a smaller spinning rod / reel with a size 12 sabiki setup to catch live bait (Mackerel, Anchovies, Sardines, Walleye, and smaller perch). If the sabiki with bare lures are fishing slow, I will cut some shrimp up into pieces the size of the hook shank. I would put them on all 6 hooks looking for a smaller bar perch, walleye or shiner. Be sure to cast as close to the pilings as you can without snagging them when fishing for perch. However, you would want to keep the current in mind as snagging a piling sucks!

If no live bait, this same setup does great with a full size Anchovy, Sardine, Mack or Herring. Use a loop knot and loop around the tail of the bait after setting up with the hook through the nose. This allows the bait to stay on your line while casting.

Fish on the waterline where you are about 10-15 ft outside from where the waves are breaking. The Halibut have been good down there, my buddy lives there and calls me to rub it in all the time. There are a ton of other species you can catch with this method as well, so good luck!!!

Frenchie I grew up fishing piers, best setup I have found is a 8'6 or 9' rod with an abu 6500 or similar for your main rod. 10-25lb test and 25-40lb leader. I use a 1/0 - 3/0 octopus hook below about a 4ft length section of leader material, tied to a barrel swivel. The mainline goes from swivel to sliding egg style plastic bead followed by a snap swivel where I will use a 3 oz triangle weight. Its similar to a Carolina rig, which works great on both live and dead bait. I prefer to use live bait over dead, as over the years I have caught about twice the amount of fish (from Striper, Flatties, WSB, Sharks and of course the occasional Sea Dog.)

I fish with my drag super light and my clicker on, this allows me to hear the run, then set the drag accordingly once the hook is set... As with flatties, when getting that first nudge, feed them the line, be patient, let them inhale that bait! Then Rip them lips!

JUST MAKE SURE while you are letting your rod rest, with either live or dead bait is on, rest it on the eyelet of the rod, sometimes we used to cut little v's on the pier (out of the wood railing) to set your guides on. Who knows, you may have found a lucky spot if you used someone's pre cut mark. This is usually a sign of a known pier fisherman and possibly a good spot.

I use a smaller spinning rod / reel with a size 12 sabiki setup to catch live bait (Mackerel, Anchovies, Sardines, Walleye, and smaller perch). If the sabiki with bare lures are fishing slow, I will cut some shrimp up into pieces the size of the hook shank. I would put them on all 6 hooks looking for a smaller bar perch, walleye or shiner. Be sure to cast as close to the pilings as you can without snagging them when fishing for perch. However, you would want to keep the current in mind as snagging a piling sucks!

If no live bait, this same setup does great with a full size Anchovy, Sardine, Mack or Herring. Use a loop knot and loop around the tail of the bait after setting up with the hook through the nose. This allows the bait to stay on your line while casting.

Fish on the waterline where you are about 10-15 ft outside from where the waves are breaking. The Halibut have been good down there, my buddy lives there and calls me to rub it in all the time. There are a ton of other species you can catch with this method as well, so good luck!!!

Thanks for the details, that's great. We will try to make the best of it.

Drop down rig with 4/0 hooks and 3-40z weight.  Might need to bring a circular crab pot n some rope...  Just in case you land something big. Use the pot to bring up the fish...

Drop down rig with 4/0 hooks and 3-40z weight.  Might need to bring a circular crab pot n some rope...  Just in case you land something big. Use the pot to bring up the fish...

Yes circular net is a necessity!! Totally blanked on that, unless you plan on jumping off the pier and landing it from shore